Coating apparatus



" May 28, 194 6.

COATING APPARATUS Filed April 7,1943

INVENTORS Giff. BURNS S. PITT DJ! WATERS ATTORNEY 1 May 28 1946- G. K. BURNS ETAL COATING APPARATUS s Shets-Sheet 2 Filed April 7, 1943 x I wk 1/ INVE'N TORS 6.1.. BUR/VS S. PITT 0.14 WA raps ATTORNEY May 28, 1946.

G. K. BURNS ETAL 2,40f,047

COATING APPARATUS Filed April 7, 1945 s Sheets-Shee't s FIG. 5

Fl/l/ INVCNTORS 0.x. BURNS s; PITT 03 WA 1595 A TTOR/VEV Patented May 28, 1946 COATING APPARATUS Gordon K. Burns and Samuel Pitt, Westfield, and

Daniel V. Waters, Flemington N. J., assignors to. Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New YorlgN. Y a corporation of New York Application April 7, 1943, seria No.4s2,cs0

1 Claim. (CL91-45l This invention relates to coating apparatus, and moreparticularly to apparatus for coating quartz crystal plates with conductive materials.

Quartz crystal plates when used in filters in the communication arts, are coated with aluminum, silver or other suitable conductive materials, and it is important that thiscoating be of a given thickness uniform throughout.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is simple in structure, yet highly efficient and practical in-coating quartz crystal 7 plates.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a unit actuable to spray a coating material in a given path and a support for an article having a normal position in a plane substantially parallel'with the said path and movable through the path at substantially right angles with respect thereto to be coated with the material.

Other objects and advantages will be apparen from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein l Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the ap-" paratus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, a portion thereof being broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating the power means for moving the article and its support through a coating cycle;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

.In' the present embodiment articles 25, in the byany suitablerneans (not shown). The materialulfl is directed from the "unit I! in agen eral path which is substantially horizontal and is toward a baiile plate 23 suspended, through the aid of arms 2t, from the ceiling of the housiorm of quartz crystal plates, are to be moved through thepath of the coating material l9, to f be eoated therewitlr' Alsupport in the form of an arm 21, having a lo'opedend 28'upon which i an arcuate plate29 is disposed, is fixedly mounted upon an element 30 and is adapted through suitable power means to be moved, from the normal position shown in dotted lines i'nFig. 2 and full lines in Fig. 1, through a complete cycle includinga substantially vertical position shown pin dot and dasnlines infFig. 2. I

Referring again to the arcuate plate 29 ,jit will be observed that individual plates 32are mounted thereon, the latter having projectingpins 33 spaced so as to retain theinrespectivearticles 25 (Fig. 8) during the cycle. ofhnovement of the arm. The smaller plates 32 ,may, if de-' sired, be removably supported by themain plate 29 so that other arrangements of retaining pins mechanism employed in moving the support 21 together with the articles through the coating -dicated generally at 35, mounted upon a frame 35 Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 11 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view 0f the article support.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate a housing, indicated generallyat ill, closed on all sides excepting a portion of its front, indicated at ll,,a loadingposition I 2 and an exit outlet I4. A supporting bar I 5 has its ends fixed to the housing, as at 16;.and extends across the front of the housing substantially midway of the open portion II. mounted upon the bar adjacent the center thereof. The unit I! in the present embodiment is a spray gun actuable, through a handle Hi, to force a. coating material I!) through a nozzle 20 from A unit, indicated at H, is 50 cycle. This means consists mainly of a unit, in-

36 at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees from the base of the housing. The power means for this unit includes an electric motor 31 and a reduction gear unit 38, the output end of the latter being indicated at 39 and I operatively connected to a oneerevolution clutch, 40; The inner structure of the clutch 40 may be y of a conventional type (not shown); the outer structurethereof including a stop or disengaging portion 4| (Fig. 4), adapted to be engaged. by a control lever 42. The control lever t2 (Figs. 3;" and 4) is mounted upon a shaft 43 which 15am 1 naled in suitable bearings 44 carried by-the frame 36. An actuating lever 45 is fixedto the outer end of the shaft 43 and has its outer end pivotally connected, as at .46, to a push rod 41, the

'latter extending through a supporting bearing 48 mounted in the housing l0 and, through the housing, as shown in Fig. 2, where a push button or handle 50 is mounted upon the outer end there-9 a supply tank 2| by air under pressure supplied of. A spring 5lnormally urges the rod outwardly and serves as means to actuate the lever 45, shaft 43 andcontrol lever 42, to move the latter into engagement with the stop portion 4| of the clutch. The forward movement of the push rod 41, through the control of the spring 5|, is limited by a collar 52 mounted upon the push rod and positioned to engage the bearing 48.

A shaft 55, rotatably supported by suitable bearings 56, has one end operatively connected to the clutch 40 and through this connection the shaft is rotated one or more cycles depending upon the operative engagement of the clutch through the actuation of the control lever 42. A brake control cam 51 is mounted upon the shaft 55 between the bearings 56 and has a low portion 58 in the periphery thereof, the latter being cylindricai throughout excepting the low portion. A cam roller 59 is rotatably supported by'one end of a bellcrank lever. 68 and positioned to ride upon the surface of the cam 51. The lever 68 is mounted upon one end of a shaft 6|, the latter being journalled in suitable bearings 62 and having a brake arm 63 mounted upon the opposite ends thereof. The brake arm 63 (Fig. 1) is provided with a suitable brake shoe 64' positioned to engage a brake drum 65.

Returning now to the lever 60 (Fig. 6), it will be noted that an arm 66 thereof is connected toone end of a spring 61, the other end thereof being connected to an adjustable screw 68, the purpose of the spring being to apply force to the brake arm 63 through the lever 68 and the shaft 6| to create a braking force on the shaft 55 through the engagement of the brake shoe 64 with the brake drum 65.

Means is provided, through the control of the rod 41, to render the brake means ineffective if it should be desirable to continue operation of the apparatus through more than one cycle. This means includes a rod 18 (Figs. 3 and'fi) slidable longitudinally in a bearing 1| and including a spring pressed plunger 12 in one end thereof adapted to pass beneath the arm 66 of the lever 68 during a time interval when the roller 58 isriding upon the high portion of the cam 51,

to lock the lever 6|! against movement into the brake applying position when the low portion 58 of the cam reaches the roller. The other end of the rod 10 is connected, as at 13, to the control lever 42, and is moved through this connection. during actuation of the rod 41,

Attention is now directed to the outer end of theshaft 55, upon which is mounted a head or collar 15. It will be noted that the brake drum 65 has a reduced portion 16 extending to the head 15, the entire brake drum structure having a sleeve bearing 11 rotatably supporting it upon the shaft 55. The element 30 is mounted upon the reduced portion 16 and is connected thereto in any one of a plurality of positions by a spring pressed plunger or ball member 18 receivable in a plurality of recesses 18. A further connection between the element 38 and the reduced portion 16 includes a in 80 receivable in an elongate recess 8|, the former being carried by the reduced portion 16 while the latter is disposed m the element" 38. An annular member 82 is mounted upon the reducedportion 16 concentric with the head and spaced therefrom. In this member, as shown in Fig. 5, are disposed pins 84, 85 and 86.

One end of a spring!" is fixed to the pin 84, the opposite end thereof being connected to a projection 88 which in the present instance is a pin extending through the head 15 and the shaft 55, serving also to positively connect these two members together. The pin or projection 88 is positioned between the pins 85 and 88, the latter serving to limit the movement of the shaft and head relative to the portion 16 and to provide positive connection therewith through the projection. A suitable cover 89 is provided for the structures at this end of the shaft 55, this cover being fixedly mounted upon the element 30. At this time attention is directed to portion 98 of the element 3|], which provides additional weight at the side opposite the arm 21 to serve as a counterbalancing portion.

Upon considering now the operation of the apparatu's, let it be assumed that the supporting arm 21 is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, that is, the dottedline position shown in Fig. 2. After placing the articles 25 between the sets of pins'33 upon the plates 32, the operator may push the rod 41 inwardly through the aid of the button 50, to move the lever free of the portion 4| of the clutch, allowing the clutch to engage-connecting the shaft 55 with the power means 31 and 38, resulting in rotation of the shaft in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 3). For a single cycle'of operation, the operator need only move the rod 41 sumciently to release the clutch and may at that time release the rod 41, allowing the force of the spring 5| to cause the free end of the lever 42 to ride upon the adjacent wall of the clutch until the portion 4| is again presented thereto after the complete cycle of operation. At that time the force of the spring 5| will move the lever 42 into position in engagement with the portion 4|, resulting in disengagement of the clutch and stopping of the apparatus. The stopping of the apparatus is assisted by thebrake applying means. As soon as the cycle of operation begins, the roller 59 (Fig. 6) rides out of its low portion of the cam 51, freeing the brake shoe 64 from the drum B5, and for the major portion of the operating cycle rides upon the high portion of the cam. However, as thecam approaches the end of its cycle, the low portion thereof is presented to the roller and the force of the spring 61, through the lever 68, causes the brake shoe 64 to apply a braking force upon the drum 65, tending to stop rotation of the shaft 55.

Attention is now directed to the articles 25 on the supporting, arm 21. At a suitable time after thereleasing of the clutch to start the cycle of operation, the operator may press the lever or handle l8 to actuate the spray unit l1, causing the material Hi to be sprayed in the given path which is substantially parallel with the normal position of the articles. However, during the cycle of operation of the apparatus, the angular mounting of the operating means with respect to the housing In and also the supporting arm 21 results in the movement of the supporting arm together with the articles through aplane which, when traversing the path of the material, is at right angles with respect thereto. Thus the articles are substantially in vertical positions, where they may be uniformly sprayed or coated with the material. The excess material will pass on to the bafile plate 23 aided by suitable exit means associated with the exit outlet l4. Through the power means, namely the clutch associated with the motor and speed reducing unit assisted by It is important that the supporting arm together with the articles be relieved of any jerking movements during the operating cycle thereof.

This is of particular importance at the beginning and the end of the operating cycle, where the support and articles are put into motion from a stationary position and brought again to the stationary position from a movement of a given speed during the operating cycle. The cushioning means interposed between the shaft or power means and the arm includes the spring 81. At the beginning of the cycle of operation the pin or projection 88. (Fig. is held in engagement with the pin 85 through the force of the spring 81. Atthe beginning of the cycle of operation the spring 81 is the only connection between the shaft 55 and the arm 21 through the reduced Therefore, upon V sorbed by the spring 81, which will assist in start:

ing movement of the arm, the positive connection between the shaft and the arm taking place when the projection 88 engages the pin 86., Furthermore, when the clutch is disengaged at the end of the operating cycle, stopping rotation of the projection 88, the arm may continue at a slower rate of ,speed through-the force of the spring 81 until the pin 85 again engages the projection 88:

It should be understood that operation of the apparatus may be continued through a plurality of cycles by holding of the rod 41 inwardly, to hold the clutch released during the selected interval or until the last chosen cycle has begun. At the same-time the plunger 12 (Figs 3 and 6) will hold the lever 60 outwardly, as shown in Fig. 6, to hold the brake shoe 64 away from the brake drum 65. However, upon ii? desired the releasing the rod 41 the clutch will be disengaged through the lever "and the portion 4| and the brake shoe 64 will be allowed to apply its bralring force, assisted by the spring 61, to the brake drum 65. Furthermore, through the aid of the spring pressed plunger 18, the arm 21, through the element 30, may be adjusted to any one of a plurality of positions on the reduced portion 16.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A coating apparatus comprising a unit operable to spray a coating material in a substantially horizontal path, a shaftj' mounted for rotation about its axis which extends at an angle of approximately 45 from a true horizontal plane, an

arm extending diagonally relative to the axis of the shaft and fromlone end of the shaft where the adjacent inner end of the arm is fixedly mounted on the shaft, a support for a substantiallyflat article secured to the outer end of the arm to support the article in a plane parallel with the arm, and means to rotate the shaft one revolution, from a loading position where the arm with the support and the article will lie in substantially horizontal planes, to move the arm through a conical path to move the suppofl with the article through the path of the coating material at substantially right angles with respect to the said path of the coating material to cause coating of the article with the material and to return the arm with the support and coated article to the loading position.

- GORDON K. BURNS.

SAMUEL PI'I'I. DANIEL V. WATERS. 

